Sixth Argument: Not Only Fruits, But also Brands
On weekends I usually do my shopping at a local supermarket. I mostly buy dairy products, but also fresh food like fish, vegetables, potatoes and fruits. So I went to the vegetable section looking for my favourite fruit: kiwis. There are may different types: yellow, green, juicy, smooth and sweet. In Europe at least kiwis have become very popular. I guess because their vitamin C content is very high. So you have in a small piece of fruit a lot of important nutrients your body needs.
Last time when I was in the vegetable section I caught myself looking not just for kiwis but a particular type of kiwi known as "Sungold". This behaviour caught my attention because I was searching for a specific brand rather than a particular fruit. Nowadays apples, oranges and tomatoes can be identified by labels stuck on their surfaces. The fact that people can distinguish between kiwis through labels seemed new to me. I've never been focused on a brand buying fresh vegetables or fruits, at least not consciously, and I don't remember having seen an ad or poster. The particular brand I selected is endowed with a really nice, unique taste and what I have read about it convinced me of its high quality. However, the way I was looking for a specific brand prompted me to reflect on consumer buying habits more deeply. One way or another something has changed in consumer behaviour I thought, when brands are not only in clothes, cars and processed food but also in fruits.
The use of labels in the sale of living organisms makes it possible to see the importance of patents and their extensive use in the selection of products through labels. While the consumer was unaware of the use of brands in the selection of fruits and vegetables, today this is almost normal and accepted in mass consumption. As long as the use of brands is widespread among consumers, they accept that a brand is a significant difference in the quality and properties of the fruit. These characteristics are not typical of any fruit given this way by nature, but have been the result of a careful process manipulated by experts.
In this sense there is an indirect positive consumer awareness of food manipulation from a hybrid and genetic point of view. The consumer prefers a kiwi that has undergone a rigorous selection process. If you compare one of the first kiwis to be consumed in Europe and one like the ones currently being produced, you can see that the consumer has chosen the kiwi offered by the food industry as the best option. If we accept this observation of the evolution of consumption in industrialized countries, we can predict a consolidation and expansion of the market for genetically modified seeds.
The use of labels in the sale of living organisms makes it possible to see the importance of patents and their extensive use in the selection of products through labels. While the consumer was unaware of the use of brands in the selection of fruits and vegetables, today this is almost normal and accepted in mass consumption. As long as the use of brands is widespread among consumers, they accept that a brand is a significant difference in the quality and properties of the fruit. These characteristics are not typical of any fruit given this way by nature, but have been the result of a careful process manipulated by experts.
In this sense there is an indirect positive consumer awareness of food manipulation from a hybrid and genetic point of view. The consumer prefers a kiwi that has undergone a rigorous selection process. If you compare one of the first kiwis to be consumed in Europe and one like the ones currently being produced, you can see that the consumer has chosen the kiwi offered by the food industry as the best option. If we accept this observation of the evolution of consumption in industrialized countries, we can predict a consolidation and expansion of the market for genetically modified seeds.